Ernesto Illy was an evangelist for espresso coffee, with which his family name is synonymous in Italy. Both scientist and businessman, he dedicated his life to creating the perfect cup, in the process helping to turn a drink hitherto largely appreciated only by his countrymen into one regarded around the world as the chic quintessence of Italy.
Illy had firm views about espresso, born of decades of research and tasting. For him, the water temperature should be between 90C and 95C and the coffee the sand-sized grinds of exactly 50 beans roasted at 220C, with 25ml to 30ml of espresso then extracted from it under 9 atmospheres of pressure. The temperature of the coffee to be sipped must be between 80C and 85C, and Illy even designed the shape of a cup for the ideal taste. Milk and sugar he regarded as contaminants.
Beans passing through Illy's warehouse in Trieste were subjected to 114 separate checks in laboratory-style conditions. He believed that if just one was too fermented it would spoil the taste of a cup, and scanners using ultraviolet light accordingly rejected 1.5 per cent of each intake.
These procedures guaranteed consistency of quality, although they also made Illy's coffee twice as expensive as other brands.
Yet such attention to detail was not merely being pernickety but was based on chemistry. Coffee is composed of about 1,500 different elements, with 800 compounds alone contributing to its aroma. Vital to the smell and flavour of espresso is the crema, the amber film that lies on top of it.
Illy had firm views about espresso, born of decades of research and tasting. For him, the water temperature should be between 90C and 95C and the coffee the sand-sized grinds of exactly 50 beans roasted at 220C, with 25ml to 30ml of espresso then extracted from it under 9 atmospheres of pressure. The temperature of the coffee to be sipped must be between 80C and 85C, and Illy even designed the shape of a cup for the ideal taste. Milk and sugar he regarded as contaminants.
Beans passing through Illy's warehouse in Trieste were subjected to 114 separate checks in laboratory-style conditions. He believed that if just one was too fermented it would spoil the taste of a cup, and scanners using ultraviolet light accordingly rejected 1.5 per cent of each intake.
These procedures guaranteed consistency of quality, although they also made Illy's coffee twice as expensive as other brands.
Yet such attention to detail was not merely being pernickety but was based on chemistry. Coffee is composed of about 1,500 different elements, with 800 compounds alone contributing to its aroma. Vital to the smell and flavour of espresso is the crema, the amber film that lies on top of it.
